The Name of The Rose

            
             Imagine a medieval Benedictine monastery, with cellarers, herbalists, gardeners, librarians, young novices. One after the other, half a dozen monks are found murdered in the most bizarre ways, and the reader very quickly finds out that the monastery, supposedly a place of piety and tranquillity is the place of sin and corruption. William of Baskerville, a learned Franciscan who is sent to solve the mystery finds himself involved in the frightening events inside the abbey. .
             This is the story of "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco. It is the medieval ages when William of Baskerville and his young scribe (Adso of Melk, who narrates the story many years later) arrive at the monastery. The monastery contains the greatest library of Christianity. The monks live "by books and for books" (P351), however, only the librarian and his assistant are allowed to enter the stacks in the labyrinth of the library. Naturally, the forbidden library, like heaven, becomes the place that all the monks crave for. Strange intrigues develop among the monks, and suddenly turn to murder. A gifted young illuminator, Adelmo, is killed; the next morning a second monk is found dead, plunged head first into a barrel of pigs' blood.
             Surprisingly enough, toward the end of the book it turns out that all those horrible crimes were committed for highly ethical reasons and furthermore, by a blind old man. The manuscript that caused the murders is the second part of the ''Poetics'' by Aristotle - a lost book containing his theory of comedy and laughter - has been found in the library and the murderer would do anything to stop the manuscript from being exposed to others.
             Numerous themes are expressed in the book, the foremost been lust and desire. It is dangerous, divisive, and ultimately illusory. In this twisted monastery, the abbot loves jewels and gems more than God, Benno hungers knowledge, Berengar desires younger men and Salvatore craves the human flesh.